Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner12]

Hello, teachers!!

The pace of reading, clearly, depends entirely upon the reader. She may read as slowly or as rapidly as she can or wishes to read. IF she does not understand something, she may stop and reread it, or go in search of elucidation before continuing. The reader can accelerate her pace when the material is easy or less than interesting, and slow down when it is difficult or enthralling. If what she reads is moving, she can put down the book for a few moments and cope with her emotions without fear of losing anything.

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Why did the author use "she" instead of "he"? Do you have any rules for this kind of personal pronoun?
Thank you so much.

[CP]

The rule used to be to use "he" when referring to a hypothetical person. But now some people will use "she" instead, or switch between "he" and "she," maybe alternating paragraph by paragraph, so as not to offend women by always using "he." It is much better than using "they" as though it is singular, which is what many people do to avoid the problem, or always saying "he or she," which is cumbersome.
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